We just got a blessing. 6 inches of slow soaking rains over about 5 days, breaking a zero rain drought that began on May 30th. Our mid swale with all the hard catchment that funnels into it, therefore took on over 96,000 gallons of rain from mostly hard catchments.

To put things in perspective we took 6 inches and the swales themselves are only 11 inches deep but almost all the water is gone. So where did it go? Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Tune in to find out.

As many of you know I grow a lot of peppermint on my homestead so you may wonder why I buy this product.

Think of it this way, to make a pound of dry mint you need to harvest about ten pounds. You then need to dry it, sort it, sift it and then you have your pound. Now I use fresh mint all the time but I also make up blends for use as daily teas, mead infusions, etc. If it takes me two hours of jacking around to make a pound of dry mint I can buy for 14 bucks, I am valuing my time at 7 dollars an hour.

It comes down to this…

Sheer Volume

Ease of Use

Value of my Time

My number one use for this product is my daily drinking tea, I love this stuff and try to make up about 4 quarts every time I blend it. We give some away but I honestly go through about a quart a week. So we are back to time value equations, do one blending, drink tea for a month. Here is that recipe. All parts are measured by volume not weight.

That tea is one every singe person who has tried it loved. Especially sweetened with stevia. Another blend I do is simply 50% peppermint to 50% lemon balm. This makes a great tea on its own, I also make a mead with it at 3 lbs of honey to the gallon, infused with 3/4ths of a cup of this blend.

All by itself it makes a great tea, I use about 4 level tablespoons to my large French Press or about two to a large cup with my Tea Infuser. If you have paid attention you will notice that Davidson’s is one of my go to’s when it comes to herbs and tea. They have an incredible value to price ratio, are almost always available in organic and simply taste great.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com along with all of our Amazon reviews.

P.S.– For some reason Amazon has lumped ALL Davidson’s tea reviews together, this renders the reviews on this item essentially useless.

Make sure if you submit content for a feedback show that you put something like “comment for jack”, “question for jack” or “article for jack” in the subject line to assure proper identification for my screening process.

Please understand I receive several hundred emails a day and can’t get them all on the air.

I also do put out a lot of information on Facebook from emails that I can’t fit on the program though so keep em coming.

Join Me Today As I Respond to Your Calls and Discuss…

A little bit about what went down at TSPC-X

A simple follow up and it shows why I do TSP

The Russian response to sanctions and the lesson it really tells

Business Insider tells us what we all knew, food expiration dates are a scam

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

Join the MSB Today and Use Code 10years to Get MSB for Only 35 Dollars a Year

The MSB is honestly a hell of a deal and now you can sign up and get a discount of 15 dollars a year with discount code “10years” and that rate will lock in for life! Many members tell me they put several hundred dollars a year back into their pockets and it isn’t hard to see how. Here are just a few great examples of the discounts that add up really fast.

Bob Well Nursery – They give you 10% off all orders on all products. Trees, bushes and vines are great investments but even better with 10% off. Say you invest 200 dollars this coming year in them, well instantly there is 20 bucks back in your pocket.~

Butcher Box – These guys are awesome some of the best meat I have ever eaten. With 10 dollars off per order say you even only do the every other month program. Well that would save you 60 bucks a year. If you get a monthly box like I do, that doubles to 120 dollars a year back in your pocket.~

Western Botanicals – The company of real people that really care about you. Anything and everything herbal, get it here. They sell a premium membership for 50 dollars a year. With MSB you get it free for the first year and for half price there after. It provides 25%, yea 25% off all purchases. Even if you only buy 200 in supplements in a year, that is 50 bucks back into your pocket.~

Safecastle Royal– These folks have it all, practical to tactical, guns to gardens and everything in between. Their discount membership is 29 dollars a year, people buy it every day for the great discounts you get at their site. MSB members get it for FREE FOR LIFE. You can’t even buy a lifetime membership to their program but here you get it free. But just call it 29 bucks into your pocket every year.

Do you see why I say MSB pays for itself? In the above example alone you are talking saving $159 – $219 on a 50 dollar membership. Great huh!

It gets better because right now you can get MSB for 35 dollars a year and it will lock that rate in for as long as you remain an active member.

In addition to all the discounts above there are another 60+ companies that are offering discounts exclusive to the MSB. These are not “specials” they are discounts you can use any time as long as you are a member. Some other examples include

Do you get it yet? If you are into preparedness and self sufficiency it is almost impossible to not get your money back at 50 dollars a year for MSB much less 35 bucks! In addition to this you get some exclusive content, over 200 dollars in free eBooks and a lot of other awesome stuff. How about every episode of TSP ever in zip files.

This sale is open to new members and those who have an expired account. I would be more than happy to let existing members renew early but it just isn’t possible between the limits of the membership software and how recurring payments with credit cards or paypal works.

You can also renew or join by snail mail, by using the mail in form, if you do just write code “10years” on the form. Otherwise just sign up online and start supporting TSP at only 12.8 cents an episode and lock in that amazing rate for life.

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is a product that if you don’t have it in your car, well, you are wrong. I almost never say anything like that but when it comes to how cheap this product is and how much of your ass it can save, I’ll say it.

The item is the Victor Tire Repair Kit (we just really call these a plug kit). These things will fix a flat tire, or going flat tire, 90% of the time or more. The only thing they won’t fix are holes in the side wall or completely torn, cut, etc. tires.

For instance one day on the Dallas Tollway I hit a piece of angle iron and it cut about a 4 inch slice in my tire, I had to put a spare tire on, at rush hour, about 50 feet from the toll both in August when the car thermometer said it was 114 degrees. NOT FUN, and quite dangerous due to other drivers (aka idiots).

Had it been a nail or something more common, it would have been pull out nail, put in plug, air up tire with my portable compressor enough to get to an exit, then fully air up tire. Total time about 2 minutes, vs. the 15 doing the spare took. In other words 13 less minutes risking being killed by an idiot.

Tire plugs are very reliable and surprisingly effective. My uncle and I one time got a flat in his jeep. We found the leak and an odd black thing about the size of a big man’s thumb in it. Puzzled we looked at each other and he pulled it out with a pair of pliers. It was a screw driver, with the handle almost all the way in the tire. We pondered it, tried a plug and it held.

I have some experience with tire repair, you see my father ran a tire business for 20 years. I broke down and fixed a lot of tires as a kid. My dad would sell a person a replacement, or do a patch or do a plug. But when he got a flat he would always just plug the tires on his own car. Now the best practice is to go to a shop afterword and see if a proper internal patch can be applied.

But here is the thing, most tire shops are now run by liars, or people trained by so many generations of liars they don’t know they are lying any longer. They will say the tire can’t be patched and you need a new one, why, well to sell you a new one. If I was faced with driving a plugged tire when my set had say 10,000 miles or a bit more on it before I replaced them all anyway, or buying one expensive tire, well, I’d be driving with a plugged tire.

The key is with a plug kit you can get going again fast. Oh and if you have a lawn tractor and live where thorny things grow, these are an absolute requirement. Ask me how I know. Finally the kit I recommend on Amazon is a good low cost option, the truth is though they are all good really. There is really only one way to make a plug kit. I don’t care where you get one of these but have one and learn to use it. For what it is worth though Victor Tire Repair Kit is a top quality kit that is cheap enough to keep one in the garage and one in every vehicle.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop on Amazon you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

In the body of your email first tell me the council member your question is for. Second ask your question concisely in one to two sentences maximum. Third any and all details after that. This is the formula to give you the best chance of getting on the air.

I do what I can to get as many of your questions as possible on the air but can’t always get to all of them. Our council is made of a wide variety of experts in everything from the tactical to the practical and everything in between.

To get more information on our Expert Council visit our “Meet the Expert Council Page” to learn more about them and their specific areas of expertise.

Join Me Today As Our Experts Discuss…

All about lectins and their effect on health – Gary Collins

The ins and outs of grazing cattle, chickens and turkeys – Darby Simpson

All about dealing with “fatty tumors” on dogs and cats – Dr. Kelley Dees-Atkinson

When is the default wordpress theme a good idea – Nicole Sauce

The current state of the market and timing investments – John Pugliano

Thoughts on investing in silver, the how, the why, the what, the when – Jack

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day the Hamilton Beach Electric Kettle. This item gets used daily. Now I paid a bit more for mine to get a red one. Why? Dorothy likes and wanted a red one. Well, when a woman puts up with all the crap that a full time podcaster and part time farmers wife puts up with and asks for red, by God she is gonna get it from me anyway. By the way since the first time I posted this item, the cost of the red one has dropped to only about 10 bucks difference in price. And I got to admit while red is not really my color it does look good.

In the end though red or silver they function identically and the silver one is only $24.57 with free shipping on prime. What do you do with it? Well clearly you boil water with it but here are my big uses for mine…

Okay about those eggs, want perfect eggs hard boiled to this, with any electric kettle by the way. Put 1-4 eggs in the kettle, fill about half way with water, turn the kettle on, most will automatically stop when they boil, this one does. When it shuts off, set a timer for 12 minutes, let it just sit for that long. Pour off the water, rinse with cold water to cool things off and remove your eggs.

Why does this work so well. Okay when you do the same thing with a pot the eggs sit on the bottom and get hotter on the bottom and get hotter than the 212 it takes to boil the water. And electric kettle is efficient, heat comes from all sides evenly heating the water, which is why it boils faster.

Due to this your eggs are heated to the exact 212 range of the water and boil to hard perfectly. Add a tsp of vinegar and they will even peal more easily. Oh, also use eggs about 2 weeks old for boiling if you have fresh from your own yard eggs, they will peal easily compared to super fresh ones as well.

In any event a good Electric Kettle is something I just could not live without in my kitchen, and the Hamilton Beach Electric Kettle is the best value to price one I have yet found. Consider that it has 4.5 stars over all with over 1200 reviews and it makes a lot of sense that it is a quality product. In fact over two years I have sold several hundred of these and have never heard a word of complaint from the audience. That says a lot.

My personal kettle is over 3 years old now. I run an average of 3 batches of something a day in it. 3 x 365 x 3 = 3,285 mission this thing has run with my crappy hard water and it is still going strong.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop on Amazon you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

P.S. – While I have not yet reviewed it, I will soon review this awesome coffee carafe. Teamed with this and the French Press I recommend this kettle makes the best coffee I have ever had. I make up about three batches in the morning and with an initial pour of two cups it all fits in the carafe.

I do this with tea as well. They are still piping hot hours later with no degrading of quality. It has saved a lot of waste because one press makes about 3 big mugs of coffee or tea. That third one was mostly being tossed out because it became tannic and nasty by the time we got to it. So the way I look at it, the carafe pays for itself pretty quickly.

We will have a private bar, a personal wait staff and private room for our 10 year anniversary.

If you are one of the lucky listeners to have signed up for the 10 Year Anniversary party here are the details for this Saturday Night.

We have chosen a private room at Meso Maya in downtown Fort Worth and the date of course is Saturday, August 11, 2018. The food at this place is off the hook and we have a special custom off the menu line up of Tapas (small servings) for everyone. Everyone gets two of everything, which should fill everyone up big time. This is what we are going to be having…

This is all included at no additional cost to those attending. You may order addition food directly at your own cost but it is not likely that most people will feel the need. Drinks are order and pay for your own.

We have a private wait and bar staff dedicated just to us for all three hours of the party. Long time friend of TSP and frequent AV support at our work shops “Hatch” will be providing DJ services. And hanging with Hatch is always cool.

Valet parking is complementary for all attendees and will be just out in front of the restaurant. Dorothy and I are pre tipping on the food and base service but if you are ordering drinks and what have you please tip the staff well. They are going to work their butts off for us and servers and bartenders live on tips.

The party is 6-9 PM and they will let people head upstairs about 15 minutes early. The address is 604 Main St #100, Fort Worth, TX 76102 which is walking distance from Sundance Square.

SPECIAL NOTICE – Do not, I repeat DO NOT get suckered into going to the location on Hulen Avenue, that is the one that pops up when you search google maps and most other GPS based stuff. Again the location is 604 Main St #100, Fort Worth, TX 76102. To avoid any confusion this link is to a google map of the exact location.

Attire for this is about anything you want. I’ll likely be wearing jeans and a T-shirt to drive the point about that home. You an dress up as much or little as you like but this is a bunch of folks having fun. It is Texas in August, so it is gonna be about 100 degrees, so don’t over do it.

If you were in the second group of sign ups that is being charged 25 dollars a head you can simply pay Dorothy anytime during the event. We are not doing a sign in sheet or anything like that. If this is you then by now you would have gotten a text from Dorothy about it If you didn’t get a text from Dorothy, just assume you are in the first group and don’t owe anything at the door.

Akiva Silver has a background in wilderness survival and nature awareness. He holds a deep appreciation for wildlife and trees. Akiva runs Twisted Tree Farm, 20 acres of diverse orchards and a nursery.

The nursery provides Akiva and his family of 5 with their full income. He believes in the trees that he raises so much that he sees them as a path forward for humanity and all of the ecosystems surrounding us.

Akiva joins us to discuss tree crops as an incredible path forward on multiple levels. Akiva says that, “by understanding how we can partner with the plant world, we can stabilize and build soils, increase wildlife populations, feed ourselves, manage the carbon cycle, and provide ourselves with abundant income.”

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

Join the MSB Today

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.